In the Bud
by KaylaNorail
Summary: While looking for Odin in New York, Thor is just glad to have Loki on his side again. Unfortunately, his newfound joy is quickly crushed as Loki abandons the search and turns towards a different objective.


**AN: Hey, look, I wrote another pointless and melodramatic Thor & Loki story, because I apparently can't write anything else. For this one, blame the plot bunny that attacked me all of the sudden and just refused to leave, nibbling at my brain and whispering "dooooo iiiiiiiiiit." Stubborn little beast.**

 **Special thanks to Yennefer for betaing! ^.^**

* * *

As he burst into the Sanctum Sanctorum, Thor scolded himself in his mind. For being too gullible, too trusting, too forgiving. Too _sentimental,_ as Loki would probably say. How could he have not noticed anything? How could he set all his suspicions aside, choosing to believe that _this time_ there would be no secrets, no tricks?

In hindsight, it all seemed obvious. How Loki had seemed interested more in the Sanctum Sanctorum rather than talking to Strange about Odin. How he would have rather asked about the place or the artifacts stored there rather than about their Father's possible whereabouts. How he appeared reluctant to actually go out in the street and start searching. But Thor had not paid any attention to that; it simply wasn't important. What was important was the fact that Loki was with him again, that he was _alive_ and once more they were working together, even if Loki wasn't exactly thrilled about the prospect. But then, he had been the one to _suggest_ the search shortly after revealing himself to Thor, saying that if they wanted to fight off the oncoming danger they had to find the All-Father—who, strangely enough, apparently had left Asgard on his own volition, without telling anyone about his destination or goal, leaving Loki to watch over the realm in his stead.

Now, that story _did_ sound suspicious and Thor actually wondered if it was just one more of Loki's lies—and there were gaps in Loki's story, such as how he managed to survive Svartalfheim, why Odin let him rule Asgard, how Loki knew to look for Odin in New York—but Thor decided to wait until they found Odin to confirm or deny Loki's words. If anything, Loki's involvement in the search could have served as proof that he had indeed been telling the truth; were it otherwise, if Loki had taken the throne by force and disposed of their Father, why would he risk losing it and help expose himself? So Thor ignored those doubts too, just happy that once again he and Loki were on the same side and hoping it would remain that way.

Until Loki suddenly disappeared in the middle of the street.

That was when Thor realized that he and Strange were accompanied by a mere illusion—and everything clicked into place and he knew where they should be looking for their wayward companion.

"What could he have gone for?" Thor asked, looking around the room. The Sanctum was full of magical artifacts and every single one of them could be of interest to Loki. He immediately regretted he hadn't been paying attention when Loki was asking about the objects scattered all over the place.

"I—I'm not sure," Strange replied, no less concerned than Thor. "I'm not even sure what some of them do, I'm still quite new at this—"

"Did he seem interested in anything in particular to you? Is—is something missing?"

"Doesn't look like it—" Suddenly Strange's eyes widened. "Oh. Oh no."

"What is it?"

"I just—he asked about the portal, remember?"

As Strange mentioned it, Thor did in fact remember. Loki had said something about sensing some odd interdimensional energy coming from some direction, saying it reminded him of the secret passages he used to move between the realms. Strange explained it was the portal linking the place to Kamar-Taj, but he did not elaborate and the subject was not brought up again.

"You think he might have gone there, to that—that place you mentioned?" Thor asked.

"You said you have personally dealt with three Infinity Stones. That Loki even wielded one, disguised in his scepter, and managed to steal another." Strange seemed to become gradually paler with every word he said. "Well, Kamar-Taj—there is another Infinity Stone stored there. And the portal leads _straight to it_."

Now it was Thor who turned pale. " _What?!_ "

"Now, I didn't tell Loki about it—but if he somehow knows anyway, or even if he doesn't, but still finds it—"

"Lead the way," Thor cut in. " _Quick._ "

They broke into a run through the corridors of the Sanctum, and with every step Thor dreaded more and more what they might find. The fact that Loki had apparently tricked him again was painful enough, but if he had outright _betrayed_ him, if he just wanted to lay his hands on yet another Infinity Stone, if—a chill ran down Thor's spine—if Loki was not going to fight his old master after all, but instead decided to come back to him and give him what he wanted—

Thor didn't even want to think about that. His heart was bleeding enough already, he wasn't going to cut it even deeper with such dark suspicions.

Finally they arrived at a heavy door with the Vishanti seal on it; the door was open and so they could clearly see what was behind them. But they paid no attention to the pedestal in the middle of the room behind the door, nor did they notice the objects placed upon it at first. What immediately drew Thor and Strange's attention was something resembling a gate of crystal, shrouded in delicate wisps of blue and green light. Behind the gate lay a dark, icy landscape, and they could feel the chill coming through. Dark, sharp buildings stood in the snow, some of them visibly damaged. There was also some noise coming from the distance, but neither of them could tell what exactly it was. It sounded like voices. Many loud voices.

"What in the—" Thor walked forwards, only then looking at the pedestal and noticing a strange contraption of metal and glass. It was a tube with two handles, similar to the one Thor and Loki had used to travel to Asgard after the Battle of New York. This one, however, had two chambers instead of one. In one of them floated the Tesseract. The other chamber housed a strange amulet with a green stone in it. The device was surrounded by the same glowing wisps as the gate.

"This is it," Strange said. "The Eye of Agamotto. And this gem—it's the Time Stone. But the rest—this wasn't here before."

"Loki must have brought these with him." Thor eyed the contraption. "I recognize the Tesseract. But I know not what the device is."

"Neither do I, but I think I know what it's _doing._ " Strange pointed at the gate. "It seems to be sustaining this."

Thor looked at the landscape behind the gate. There was something eerily familiar about it.

"Loki used the Time Stone and the Tesseract to create this…" He said, more to himself than to Strange. "It must lead to a different place and a different _time._ "

"But where and when is that?" Strange asked.

"It looks like—I think it may be Jotunheim."

"Jotunwhat?" Strange sounded puzzled, and not for the first time Thor wondered how someone could call themselves the Sorcerer Supreme and yet know so little of the Nine Realms.

"It's one of the Realms of Yggdrasil. One of—well, you can see how it looks like." Thor waved his hand at the gate. "This is the world of eternal winter."

"And what Loki may be looking for there?"

That was a good question. Especially considering _what_ Loki truly was. Was his heritage any part of his reason for going there? And why would he manipulate time itself to do that?

"I do not know," Thor said in the end. "But I need to find out." Again, he glanced at the device. "I am going. Stay here, Doctor."

Strange gave him a worried look. "On your own? Will you be alright?"

"It's not like I have much choice." Thor shuddered a bit when the gust of cold air came in through the gate. "Someone should stay behind and guard the gate and the Stones, in case Loki or anyone else appears. But let us hope I will find him before—" He paused. Before what, exactly? He had no idea what Loki's plans were. There was even a slight chance that Loki was not doing anything sinister at all, but the fact he had hid it from Thor seemed to suggest otherwise. "Before anything happens." Thor finished somewhat sheepishly.

"Right." Strange seemed convinced, if not really comfortable with the idea. Thor gave him a pat on the shoulder and turned towards the gate. He was about to go in, but then turned to Strange one last time.

"If—if you deem it necessary to close this thing… do not hesitate. Do not wait for me to come back."

Strange frowned at him. "Then you will be stuck in a wrong time."

"I am aware of that. Just—keep that in mind, in case you have to do it."

Strange said nothing to that, and Thor was not going to wait for his answer. He took a deep breath, as if preparing to go underwater, and stepped through the gate.

The chill was even more biting on the other side, seeping even through Thor's armor. Thor looked around, Mjolnir in his hand. He saw small shapes moving in the distance and he kept approaching slowly, careful not to get noticed. It was hard to tell at first, but it seemed that they were fighting each other—and as he drew nearer, the noise was more and more resembling the clamor of battle.

A suspicion arose in his mind, and he almost gasped. Finally, he was close enough to recognize the men wearing Asgardian armor among the blue-skinned giants, battling each other fiercely.

He stiffened momentarily in his hiding spot, his suspicions confirmed. This must have been the last battle between Asgard and Jotunheim, over thousand years ago.

 _But why would Loki come here,_ he thought. What could be here at this exact time that Loki would be after? Thor at once tried to remember everything he'd been taught about the war; one of the few historical subjects he actually paid attention to. He could not come up with anything more valuable than the Casket of Ancient Winters.

But why the Casket? Yes, it was lost in the Void, when the Bifrost was destroyed and—the memory was still making Thor shudder—when Loki fell. Thor knew what it could to, at least he thought he did. Was it really something worth bending time itself to regain it? Or maybe there was something about the Casket that he was not aware of?

Thor shook his head. Those questions could wait. He had to find Loki first.

He thought of Jotunheim's Great Temple—the place where he could remember Laufey was ultimately defeated and where the Casket was stored. He carefully looked out of his cover and up to see the image he'd seen many times in history books—and one, as he realized, also during his fateful trip to Jotunheim a few years before—two ominous tall towers overseeing the landscape, connected by a balcony not even halfway their height. That was where the Casket had been kept—and, seeing as the fight was still not over, it should still be there.

He could see the entrance to one of the towers just a few paces ahead. And the way led right through the flurry of battling Asgardians and Jotuns.

He didn't hesitate long before running out of cover, heading straight towards the tower. He cared not if somebody noticed him; in the middle of the battle the warriors on both sides were surely more preoccupied with staying alive than with any strangers appearing out of nowhere. But Thor still struggled to get past the throng of fighting bodies, and had to resort to clearing his path with Mjolnir when some of the Jotuns deemed him their target. Fighting his way through and seeing more than one Asgardian soldier fall, he felt tempted to stay and help his people, or just to summon the lighting, but _that_ would surely stand out, and it was probably better if nobody witnessed such a feat right here, right now. It wasn't mentioned anywhere in the historical records he'd read and he was going to leave it that way.

It did not take him too long to reach the entrance, and when inside, he sped up the stairs. His hand was still gripping Mjolnir, more in case of any Jotuns that might attack him than Loki. But as he continued upwards, he encountered no one. He wondered how far ahead of him Loki was—or if he was even here and not somewhere else, if something other than the Casket was his goal. But with no other leads, this one had to be checked first.

The stairs seemed to go on endlessly and as he went, Thor still did not see a single living creature, although he could swear he heard noises of battle coming from the passages he ran past. He did not stop even for a moment, focusing on his single task and hoping he was right in his pursuit and not just wasting time. Eventually, it finally went almost completely quiet, the noises from below becoming muted as he went higher and higher.

And it was then when he heard something he didn't expect, not far above him.

It was a baby's cry.

The sound made him stop in his tracks abruptly. At once he remembered what Odin had told him after Loki was lost to the Void, about how Loki had come to be a part of the House of Odin, about how the All-Father had found him, about _where_ he had found him.

Thor's brother was here, in the temple. Abandoned. Alone. Discarded by his own father, crying out to him to come back, but to no avail.

Thor knew it wouldn't last. Odin would come and take Loki home, to Asgard, and all would be well. Thor should just ignore it and go for the _other_ Loki, the one who had come here through the gate. And as Thor made the first step forward, gritting his teeth, he intended to just go past. He could not falter, could not afford a distraction.

But he also could not ignore it. He could not bring himself to just leave his little brother here, even if he knew that rescue would come eventually. He had to at least see him, tell him everything was going to be fine, that he would not be alone for long, that he would have a new family that would love him.

And so he ran again, reaching a doorway leading to what he assumed was a chamber just beneath the balcony—good, at least it wasn't far already—and felt the blood in his veins freeze at the sight he found there.

Just as Odin had told him, there was a little blue-skinned baby loosely wrapped in a bundle of cloth lying of the floor, at the foot of what seemed like an altar. But the baby wasn't alone. His red eyes were fixed on a figure kneeling right next to him.

It was Loki— _the_ Loki Thor was looking for, all grown-up and tall and dark, no longer dressed in the elegant Midgardian attire but in his black and green light armor—holding a dagger in his raised hands, pointing it straight at the baby.

Vibrating with anger and dread, Thor barged into the room; Loki's head snapped up, his eyes wide with surprise. Before he could do anything, Thor dropped Mjolnir and grabbed him by his arm, pulling him up and away from the baby. Loki tried to swipe at him with the dagger, but Thor caught his wrist and then slammed him against the wall, pinning the hand wielding the blade above Loki's head.

" _What are you doing?!_ " he yelled. It was a stupid question. It was _terribly_ clear what Loki was trying to do. He should ask _why._ _What for._ But the answer would not matter. Nothing could probably justify what he had just witnessed.

Loki said nothing, just breathed through clenched teeth and stared.

"Drop the dagger," Thor demanded.

Silence.

"Drop it. _Now._ "

"Release me." Loki's voice quivered slightly.

" _No!_ " Thor unwittingly tightened his grasp. "Have you gone _mad?_ You used the Time Stone for _this?_ Just—what are you trying to do?"

"I am trying to make things right."

The words hit Thor like a club and weighed down his heart. He paused for a moment, refusing to comprehend them; he quickly glanced at the baby, now quiet and trying to look at them, then back at Loki. "What—Loki, just how would it make anything right? You cannot—"

"I can," Loki said sharply, "and I will. Release me. Just let me do it, and everything will be well."

" _How?!_ " Thor shook him. "How could _this_ make anything right?"

Loki took a deep breath. "Thor, I—I spent a long time thinking about this, trying to come up with a way to solve everything. And _this_ is my solution. This is the best course of action. If _it_ dies now—" he indicated the baby "—it will never fall into the Void. It will never alert Thanos to the presence of the Tesseract on Earth. It will never speed up his return. No invasion of Midgard. No unrest in the realms."

Thor shook his head. "And _he_ will never grow up alongside me. _He_ will never be my brother. Never be my friend. Never have a family. I will not allow this."

"Really now?" Mockery rang in Loki's voice. "You let the realms burn so that the wretched Frost Giant runt may live?"

Thor bristled at the words. "Don't—don't say that, Loki, you are not—"

"I am not what, a Frost Giant or a runt? I am both, and far more, far _worse_. So let me amend Odin's worst mistake and just _kill that thing,_ Thor, before it gets a chance to become _me_."

"That was not a mistake!" Thor shouted, tears welling up in his eyes. "Loki, _please,_ let us just return to the present, we will fight Thanos there, we will find a way—"

"I have shown you a way, Thor. The best one there is."

"If this is a way without you, I do not want to follow it."

Loki flinched at the words and paused; Thor thought he might have convinced him, but Loki's next words proved him otherwise.

"Just let me do it." After a moment of hesitation, he added, "It is for the better."

"It would not work," Thor blurted out, grasping at _anything_ that would make Loki change his mind. "If you died here and now, you—" the words could hardly make it through his throat "—you would never have grown up to go back in time and do it, it makes no sense—"

"I used the Time Stone," Loki replied. "It will allow for the paradox to work, I made sure of it. Once the child dies, reality will shift and the present me shall simply disappear. _Please,_ Thor. Let me. Just let me."

Thor looked into Loki's eyes, expecting to see the worst of emotions, to see fear or pain or despair—but instead, he saw _hope._

His stomach churned. There should be nothing hopeful about the prospect of dying—of _ceasing to exist_ —and yet there was this light glimmering in his brother's eyes, as if to mock him.

He released Loki only to put both hands on his shoulders. "You truly must be mad if you think I will allow this," he said, desperation ringing in his voice.

"Then you must be a _fool,_ " Loki countered.

Thor opened his mouth to speak, but then he suddenly realized what he'd done and that Loki could now _indeed_ try to stab him. He quickly stepped back, ready to summon Mjolnir just in case, but Loki's arms were hanging limply by his sides. His fingers were still clutching the dagger, though. Thor thought he could just knock him out and take him back to New York by force, but that was not enough. He didn't want to just _stop_ Loki, he wanted him to _abandon_ that sick idea.

"I am content with being a fool as long as I have a brother," Thor said, trying to smile a little. He glanced at the baby, who was staring at him curiously, putting his little fingers in his mouth.

"Thor," Loki continued, "just think about it—everything can be averted, or at least _delayed,_ and you just—you just want to leave everything as it is?"

"The cost is too high. Just _see it,_ brother. You cannot do this to me, to our family—"

Loki laughed bitterly. "Our family would fare much better without me."

Thor didn't know his heart could sink even lower. "You are a part of it, Loki, if we lose you—"

"If it was not for me, Mother would still be alive."

Thor tensed, a wave of cold, which had nothing to do with the chill of Jotunheim, washing over him. "Wh—what? _Mother?_ But—no, you were in your cell when it happened. There was nothing you could have—"

"I told the Kursed One how to get into the palace unnoticed, where to go to take down Asgard's shield." Loki grinned viciously, almost triumphantly. "There was nothing in it for me, I just did it out of spite. And then he killed Mother. All because I spoke to him."

He assumed a defensive stance, surely in case Thor tried to attack him. But Thor just remained where he stood, hands shaking and balling into fists.

"You are lying," he said through clenched teeth. "You are only telling me that so—"

"I have never been so honest with you in my entire life. It was my fault. _I killed her._ "

Some part of Thor screamed with fury inside his head, enraged that something so _petty_ led to their Mother's death—but another part was quick to quench it, because he _knew_ Loki had not wanted this, he knew how deeply Loki had mourned her—and now he knew how much Loki regretted it. It had not been a part of Loki's plan, if he'd even had any at that point. That had been the _last_ thing Loki would have wanted, and seeing her sons fight each other over her demise would be the last thing _Frigga_ would have wanted.

And losing Loki again because of that was the last thing _Thor_ wanted.

"You did not!" Thor insisted. "Even if what you are saying it's true, you could not have known she would be—"

"It does not change the fact that she is _dead!_ " Loki spat, not even trying to appear calm anymore; his eyes glimmered dangerously in his pale face. "But _this_ can change it. _This_ can bring her back—can make it so that she will _not_ die that day."

"She would not want it. She would not even know what you saved her from. She would not even know you did this. She _loved_ you, and you are just going to undo her love together with your own self?"

That gave Loki a pause, but then he just shook his head and quietly said, "I never deserved that anyway. It was _wasted_ on me."

"Is this the _real_ reason why you are doing this? Because you feel guilty?" Thor asked, stepping forward, but before Loki could answer, he realized it could not be the _whole_ truth. "No—there is _more,_ isn't there? Or else you would have used the Stone to go back _there,_ not here—"

"I told you already, Thor. There are so many things that can be avoided if I die now—"

" _No,_ " Thor snapped. "You never expressed any remorse over those before—and even if you changed your mind, you could prevent it all in so many other ways, you could go back before you fell, even if it were to just—to just kill yourself back then, but you chose to go all the way back here— _why?_ "

Loki's stance relaxed a little and he lowered his eyes. "Is it not obvious?"

"It is not for me."

"It… it will simply be better, Thor."

"You already said as much. But I still do not see _how._ "

"Then how _blind_ are you?!" Loki looked up, every word dripping with rage. "Everything, every single little thing I touch, turns to ash, even—" he swallowed hard "—even my own _family._ Father took me in with such high hopes for me, Mother showed me such care and shared her talents with me, _you_ have loved me too much for your own good—and look what happened. _Look at your family now!_ " He paused for breath; his eyes were wide and his whole body shook.

"I am… _sick_ of it," Loki said. "I am sick of only being capable of ruin and destruction, of disappointing everyone, of destroying everything I ever held dear. And if I do it, if this child dies now… this way no one is hurt. No one has to suffer, not Mother, not you, not _me._ I just go away quietly, and no one even has to grieve." A ghastly smile adorned his face, and he seemed to be barely holding back tears. "Because you never even meet me. And I do not meet you, or Mother, or Father… I do not fall into the Void later and I don't—" He paused abruptly, shaking his head. "This way no one of us loses _anything,_ Thor."

Thor felt the blood drain from his face; he almost collapsed to his knees as Loki's words pierced his chest as if they were the blade his brother was still holding.

"Loki—" His throat felt constricted; he could barely force himself to speak. "How can you—just _how can you—_ "

He didn't think much, he didn't care if Loki might attack or not—in the blink of an eye, he embraced his brother tightly, burying his face in Loki's shoulder. Loki shuddered in his arms, but apart from that, he did not move.

"You lose your whole life," Thor choked out. "You lose all the pain, yes, but also all the joy you ever knew and gave to us, you lose _everything_ —and I would lose _you._ And I do not want a life without you. You _cannot_ do this to me, to us, I cannot bear that—"

"It will not last." Loki sounded eerily calm, even though Thor could feel his rapid heartbeat. "You will not even remember me. You will have a new life. A better one."

" _I do not want it!_ " Thor cried out, tears trailing down his face now. "I do not want to forget you, I do not want to lose you, not a single moment—"

"Not even one?" There was an edge to Loki's voice now. "How about the moment when I ruined your coronation? Or when I almost killed you in the mortals' flying fortress? Or when I stabbed you during the battle on Midgard?"

Thor pulled back, only to cup Loki's face with both hands.

"I would rather have you stab me a thousand more times than lose even _one_ memory of you standing by my side," he said and rested his forehead against Loki's.

He closed his eyes and remained like that for a while; he could feel Loki tremble and hear his ragged breathing. And then he heard something else—a clatter of metal against the floor, and seconds later Loki's arms, somewhat shyly, wrapped around Thor. Thor immediately hugged him back.

"I—" Loki took a shuddered breath. "I—brother, I—" Finally he gave up on speaking and just clung more tightly to Thor.

Thor did not say anything. He hoped that he didn't have to, that he'd said enough.

"You will come to regret it one day," Loki whispered eventually

"Never," Thor said. " _Never._ "

Another moment of silence.

"Odin will be here soon," Loki pointed out.

"Then I guess we should go back to our time," Thor replied; he broke the embrace, but his hands stayed on Loki's arms. "Don't you agree, brother?"

Loki's eyes were closed and it seemed that his cheeks were wet, but Thor chose not to bring it up. Instead, when Loki finally looked at him, Thor gave him a smile.

"I suppose so," Loki said. "It would be rather awkward to explain the situation to him…"

Thor patted him on the shoulder; Loki gave no reaction and just went past him. For one terrible second fear arose again in Thor's heart that it might have been a trick and that Loki would try and harm the baby in the end, but Loki simply went by, not even glancing at the little Jotun on the floor—who then cried out, not with sadness or longing, but rather slight annoyance, as if he wanted to say "I'm here! Notice me!"

Thor could not help but stare at the child. Even though he was so much younger and his skin was blue, not pale pink, he already seemed like the one he would become. There was just something about him, in his eyes, in the way he looked at things, in his expression, that was just so _Loki_ Thor had a feeling he would recognize him even if he didn't know who he was.

"Are you coming?" Loki asked, standing in the doorway. "I can cloak us, we can make it back to the time gate unnoticed—"

"One moment," Thor said. "I… need to do something."

He crouched down and very carefully picked up the baby. The child gave him a quick, soft laugh. Thor responded with a hearty smile.

"Hey there, little one," he greeted the child. "I have to go soon and I cannot take you with me… but someone else will come. So do not worry. You shall not be alone."

The child reached out to him with his tiny hands. Thor offered him his own hand and the child immediately grasped his finger and tried to put it in his toothless mouth to nibble at it. Thor chuckled at that.

"You will have a family," he carried on. "You will have a wise, strong king for a Father, and the gentlest and fiercest woman in the realms for a Mother, and they will care for you with all their hearts. And you will have an older brother, and he may be more than a little annoying sometimes—but he will love you, _always,_ even when he will claim he does not anymore."

The child finally let go of Thor's finger, but still stared at him, as if mesmerized, listening to his voice even if he could not understand the words yet.

"Now, I am not saying there will be no… hardship in your life," Thor continued. "But you will endure it all. You will survive the Void, you will survive the Kursed One, you will survive _so much_ because you are just _that_ strong. And never let anyone make you think otherwise."

He hesitated for a moment, and then added, "At some point… you may make some bad choices—but we all do. Do not despair over them. Just do not dwell in the darkness and try to find your way back into the light. And if you ever think you are lost, if you will not be able to get back on your own—" He looked away from the baby, his gaze falling on Loki, who was still in the same spot, but now looking at Thor, lips drawn into a tight line. "Just take your brother's hand and you shall try find it together. Because he will not leave you alone."

Thor looked at the baby one last time, kissed his forehead and gently placed him back on the floor.

"Farewell, brother," he said quietly. "It will be better soon."

"We really should leave now." The calm in Loki's voice seemed more than just a little forced. "I think they may be above us now."

"I'm coming." Thor got up, picked up Mjolnir and followed his brother, who had started descending the stairs already.

For a moment, neither of them spoke a word, and the only thing they could heard was the noise of the battle still raging outside.

"You _do_ realize we need a new plan now, do you?" Loki asked eventually when they reached the bottom of the tower; there was nobody here, but just outside the Asgardians and Jotuns were still fighting for their lives. "That we have to actually face and fight Thanos now?"

"Of course I do. But I have hope that all will be well."

"And where does your hope stem from, I wonder?"

"Well, we shall soon find Father, and you said he should be of great help…" He almost wanted to ask "We _are_ going to find him, yes? That was not just a ruse?" but in the end decided it wasn't a good moment for such questions.

Thankfully, Loki answered the question without hearing it anyway. "He _truly_ is in New York, by the way. I needed a… backup plan, in case this one did not—well. In any case, yes, the All-Father shall certainly be helpful, provided we find him and convince him to return. But even his help may be not enough—"

"Then it is good we already have you on our side."

"Hah." Loki stopped in his tracks, smiling in a most insincere way. "Such a small comfort. Sentimentality will not save us, Thor."

"And how about someone who could harness the power of _two_ Infinity Stones at once?" Thor grinned at him.

Loki raised his brows and then furrowed them. "It took me some time to devise that and—"

"And you succeeded. This is no small feat, brother. And neither is vanquishing Thanos—but I believe that together we may succeed."

Loki just stared back at him for a while; finally, he chuckled dryly. "Well—we will see about that." He paused. "And what will you tell Strange? About my sudden disappearance?"

"The truth." When he saw Loki's features tighten, Thor quickly added, "That you sought for a certain way to defeat Thanos in the past, but that it would require too high of a cost to use."

Loki relaxed a little, giving him a wry smile. He glanced at the exit from the tower. "Anyway, before you do that, I believe we have to get past a great many of angry people with weapons." He raised his hands, readying a spell. "Ready to become invisible?"

"Ready, brother."

With a swift wave of his hand, Loki cloaked them both and they broke into a run.

* * *

 **AN: A little grammar note: I know the proper Norse plural of "Jotun" should be "Jotnar," but the Thor movie used the Anglicized "Jotuns," so I went with that.**


End file.
